DALLAS — Merriman Anderson/Architects (MAA) recently announced that the historic Dallas High School has achieved LEED Gold certification.

The 102,000-square-foot, four-story building was built in 1907 and sat empty for nearly two decades before being purchased by Matthews Southwest and redeveloped into 78,000 square feet of historically converted office space, along with 10,000 square feet of restaurant, retail and outdoor patio space.

MAA is the design architect, historic architect and architect of record for the building shell and interior restoration, including the LEED certification process.

In order to receive LEED gold certification, MAA implemented many sustainable site and material strategies, as well as envelope improvements to optimize energy efficiency.

“To increase the energy performance of the building, the envelope was improved per historic preservation standards, which was the biggest challenge,” said Aimee Sanborn, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal and Team Leader at Merriman Anderson/Architects. “However, with the envelope and lighting improvements, combined energy savings improved by more than 21.9 percent.”

A few sustainable site strategies included the abatement of contaminants in the existing building, such as the installation of native vegetation with drip irrigation and priority parking for fuel-efficient vehicles as well as on-site electric charging stations.

Highly reflective thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roofing membrane, an efficient HVAC system, and LED lighting were all established within the building to improve energy efficiency. With the installation of low flow fixtures, the potable water use within the building was reduced by more than 49.31 percent.

More than 99.64 percent of the existing core and shell were reused, and products were installed that possessed recycled content reducing the amount of construction waste. To improve the environmental health throughout the building, MAA installed low-emitting materials.

Dallas High School recently won a 2018 Preservation Dallas Achievement Award, which honors Dallas’ outstanding residential and commercial historic preservation projects and the individuals who are committed to making Dallas a better place to live by protecting its architectural heritage.

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Barton Coe Vilamaa is no stranger to Goshen Community Schools (GCS), and in fact was part of the team that worked on the school corporation’s last major construction endeavor, a $17.15 million referendum project finalized in late 2015. This previous endeavor included substantial construction projects at both Goshen High School and Goshen Middle School, including up to $10 million for a new aquatic center at the middle school to replace the outdated pools at the middle school and high school.

With the hiring by the school board now a done deal, Barton Coe Vilamaa will be focusing its next efforts on the corporation’s newest undertaking, a $65 million referendum project approved by district voters in May that will have a positive impact on countless local students. The new endeavor includes the new construction of an intermediate school for grades 5 and 6, conversion of the current middle school to serve grades 7 and 8, plus a number of upgrades at the high school.

“We were very pleased with their work during that (last) project. And as an addition, they’ve been our district architect of record for smaller projects in the intervening years, such as assisting with the specifications for the GHS football bleachers and the Chandler wall,” GCS Superintendent Diane Woodworth told the Goshen News of the corporation’s history with the firm. “So since Barton Coe Vilamaa has been a very trustworthy partner for the district, we would like to recommend that you approve them as the architect for the upcoming construction project that includes building a new intermediate school and an addition to GHS.”

The proposed project will reportedly include four primary sections: a new intermediate school; additions and renovations to Goshen High School (GHS); renovations to Goshen Middle School (GMS); and contingency funds.

As outlined in the proposal submitted by the firm, the new building, serving grades 5 and 6, will be approximately 190,000 square feet in size, including some portions having two stories. Referring to the planned addition and renovations to GHS, the proposal noted that this portion of the project includes newly constructed additions to, as well as renovations of existing interior space at, the high school.

“The new additions are anticipated to include potentially 30,000 square feet of new building area, potentially on three stories,” the proposal stated. “The renovations are anticipated to affect potentially 20,000 square feet of existing floor space and other related infrastructure improvements in various locations through the building.”

According to the proposal, the GMS renovation project consists of renovations of existing interior space at the middle school involving approximately 20,000 square feet of existing floor space and other related infrastructure upgrades in numerous locations throughout the building.

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After successfully passing a bond issue in 2013, work began quickly on the nearly $8 million, 66,000-square-foot renovation and expansion project at Elysian K-8 School, which can now accommodate up to 480 students. Plans called for creating an innovative educational environment that would surpass any other in the region, maintaining the school’s high performance in state standards testing and complementing innovative single-family housing developments located nearby.

Breaking Traditional Barriers

“We didn’t want to just add more boxes of classrooms. We wanted to do it right,” stressed Lucas Larson, Elysian K-8 School superintendent at the time of project’s design and construction.

Larson and his team looked closely at award-winning schools in other states that offered collaborative and flexible learning spaces along with a lot of natural light. “The result we achieved fit in very well with what our school board, teachers, staff and community envisioned,” Larson added.

“We were convinced that our own full view doors would also break down the barriers of a traditional classroom approach, encourage more collaboration among teachers and increase the flexibility of space,” Larson continued.

The inspiration for the Elysian K-8 School project was based in part on a trip Larson and school board members took to visit one particular school in Washington State. That school was well known for its innovative interior design concept that includes full-view sectional doors with clear panes of glass integrated into the classroom learning environments.

“Once we witnessed the doors in action, we were convinced that our own full-view doors would also break down the barriers of a traditional classroom approach, encourage more collaboration among teachers and increase the flexibility of space,” Larson said.

Two Architects, One Vision

The Elysian school district determined that local Billings firm A&E Architects was the best choice for the school project. For added expertise on educational interior design, A&E Architects brought in a Seattle-based partner, nationally recognized Integrus Architecture.

Larson explained that the district was comfortable with the progressive insights A&E and Integrus provided as well as both firms’ willingness to listen and talk about ideas with a vision that reached beyond the norm.

Working seamlessly, A&E focused on exterior design elements (due especially to the firm’s familiarity with the local climate), while Integrus concentrated on interior design and classroom layout. Eleven strategically placed Amarr 3552 Heavy-Duty Aluminum Full View Sectional Doors specified by Integrus comprised a critical design element.

Each of the full-view doors features a wide expanse of 1⁄2-inch-thick clear tempered glass between 2-inch extruded clear anodized aluminum rails and stiles. The ClearView aluminum struts add strength and durability to the doors without restricting the viewing area and allowing the maximum amount of natural light.

“A considerable amount of planning went into the door locations,” Larson said. “For example, there were several middle school classes accustomed to working collaboratively, so it made sense that they would benefit from the increased access between classrooms.”

Larson added that all of the school’s teachers were highly involved in the overall design process and spent time talking with the architects.

The renovation part of the project centered on Elysian’s middle school area. Due to a few pre-existing constraints, all six full-view doors in that part of the school are the same size — 9 feet by 8 feet — with the exception being one corner classroom which has a 4-foot by 8-foot door. The new elementary section incorporated 12-foot by 8-foot and 9-foot by 8-foot doors in the library. All classrooms with full-view door access still retain standard entry and exit doors.

High-quality Construction

Joining the architectural team and local general contractor Fisher Construction Inc. was Alpha Overhead Door, also of Billings. Alpha Overhead Door’s General Manager Matt Weber handled the door installation process.

“The Amarr full-view doors represent our first experience in the school interior environment,” Weber shared. “They play not only an important daily functional role but also provide a really cool industrial look.”

Weber added that the team only encountered a few engineering challenges along the way. “We spent some extra effort on a low headroom setup and integrating the doors’ track supports into the drop ceiling design,” Weber said. “We also modified the cable runs so they aren’t exposed to the kids in any way that would cause potential safety issues.”

After installation, Weber provided teachers with basic how-to advice on what to look out for when operating the doors with students nearby. When closed, the doors are padlocked so students can’t open the doors’ slide lock mechanisms.

Read more about this project in Part II of this story, available online on June 14.

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